EWE Baskets Oldenburg vs. Unicaja Malaga - Game

2019-20Regular SeasonRound 4

October 23, 2019 CET: 20:30

Local time: 20:30 GROSSE EWE ARENA

Oldenburg sinks Unicaja for first win

EWE Baskets Oldenburg registered its first win of the season in style, beating previously undefeated Unicaja Malaga 91-78 on Wednesday night. Oldenburg improved to 1-3 in Group D, while Unicaja dropped to 3-1. The hosts used a strong finish to the second quarter to open a 10-point halftime lead and never allowed the visitors to get within single figures again in the second half. Braydon Hobbs paced the winners with 18 points, Justin Sears had 14 and Rasid Mahalbasic contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Nathan Boothe and Kevin McLain added 10 points apiece in the victory. Josh Adams finished as Unicaja's top scorer with 14 points, Aleksa Avramovic scored 13 and Adam Waczynski and Volodymyr Gerun each scored 11 in the losing effort.

Avramovic scored 7 points early as Unicaja opened a 7-11 lead. Mahalbasic had a three-point play, but the hosts struggled offensively as Jaime Fernandez helped Unicaja extend it to 14-20. Boothe sparked Oldenburg's offense at the start of the second quarter and after Adams hit a three for Unicaja, the hosts answered with a 9-0 run behind Hobbs and Sears to take 34-30 lead. Deon Thompson knocked one down from long range for Unicaja, but Mahalbasic strung together 7 points in a 9-1 run and Gerry Blakes hit a three-pointer that made it 46-36 at halftime. In the opening two minutes of the third quarter, Ricky Paulding drove for a layup and Hobbs hit a three-pointer, while Oldenburg forced two shot-clock violations on the defensive end. Hobbs had a three-point play and McClain had a dunk that opened a 63-45 margin. Waczynski and Avramovic kept Unicaja's hopes alive late in the third quarter, but a three-point play from Robin Amaize and triple from Hobbs broke the 20-point barrier in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, 74-53. Boothe's three helped push the margin to 85-61 midway through the fourth, as the hosts cruised to victory.

Key run

Oldenburg struggled offensively in the first quarter and trailed 25-30 with 6 minutes to go in the first half, but then put together an 18-4 run as Rasid Mahalbasic took over. The hosts scored 30 points in the second quarter and led by 10 at halftime.

Defense steps up

For the second home game in a row, Oldenburg allowed 78 points. The team has allowed an average of 91.5 points in two road games so far.

Answer is not on the glass

Unicaja had 17 offensive boards in the game and 14 of those came in the second half. The visitors outrebounded Oldenburg 39-26. But it did not help much as Unicaja had just 4 assists in the last two quarters and shot just 7 for 24 from three-point range for the night.

Next up

In Round 5 next Wednesday, Oldenburg goes on the road to face winless Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (0-4), while Unicaja returns home to welcome Dolomiti Energia Trento (2-2).

Gerry Blakes - EWE Baskets Oldenburg (photo EWE) - EC19

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Eurocupbasketball.com

Referees: MOGULKOC, EMIN; HALLIKO, AARE; OBRKNEZEVIC, UROS

Attendance: 1757

By Quarter	1	2	3	4
EWE Baskets Oldenburg	16	30	22	23
Unicaja Malaga	20	16	17	25

End of Quarter	1	2	3	4
EWE Baskets Oldenburg	16	46	68	91
Unicaja Malaga	20	36	53	78

EWE Baskets Oldenburg

							Rebounds						Blocks		Fouls
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG	3FG	FT	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
3	HOBBS, BRAYDON	27:30	18	4/6	3/5	1/1		2	2	3	1	5				2	17
4	BLAKES, GERRY	11:49	5	0/3	1/1	2/2	1		1		1	2			5	1	-2
5	SEARS, JUSTIN	20:09	14	6/8		2/2	2	2	4	3			1		3	3	20
9	TADDA, KARSTEN	27:13		0/1				1	1	1		1			1		-1
11	MCCLAIN, KEVIN	13:28	10	3/3		4/5				2	1	1			3	4	12
15	KESSEN, MARCEL	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
18	HOLLATZ, JACOB	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
21	AMAIZE, ROBIN	14:18	8	2/4	1/2	1/1		1	1	3	2			1	3	1	8
23	PAULDING, RICKEY	25:42	6	3/6	0/2		1	4	5	1	4	1			3		7
24	MAHALBASIC, RASID	19:51	12	4/8		4/4	2	5	7	5		1	1		4	3	19
33	SCHWETHELM, PHILIPP	19:40	8	1/1	2/5			2	2	1		1			1		6
45	BOOTHE, NATHAN	20:20	10	3/7	1/1	1/1	2		2			2	3		3	1	7
	Team							1	1								1
	Totals	200:00	91	26/47	8/16	15/16	8	18	26	19	9	14	5	1	26	15	94
				55.3%	50%	93.8%

Head coach: DRIJENCIC, MLADEN

Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating

Unicaja Malaga

							Rebounds						Blocks		Fouls
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG	3FG	FT	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
2	THOMPSON, DEON	24:02	5	1/2	1/4			1	1	1	2	2					3
3	FERNANDEZ, JAIME	19:33	8	3/7	0/2	2/2	1	1	2	3		2			1	4	8
4	AVRAMOVIC, ALEKSA	18:09	13	3/6	2/4	1/2	1		1	1	1			1	2	3	10
6	TOUPANE, AXEL	10:41	2	0/2	0/2	2/2		1	1		1	1		2		1	-2
7	STILMA, MORGAN	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	ADAMS, JOSH	27:39	14	4/5	2/6		2	2	4	3		6			4	2	8
15	ELEGAR, FRANK	16:10	3	0/2		3/4	3	4	7			2			1	5	9
21	WACZYNSKI, ADAM	19:10	11	2/4	1/1	4/5	1		1	1	1	2				4	13
22	EJIM, MELVIN	24:48	8	4/4	0/2		2	4	6	3	4	1			3	1	16
32	GUERRERO, RUBEN	7:55		0/3			3	1	4		1		1	2	2		-1
43	SUAREZ, CARLOS	15:58	3	0/1	1/3			3	3						1	3	5
52	GERUN, VOLODYMYR	15:55	11	5/6		1/2		2	2						1	3	13
	Team						4	3	7			3					4
	Totals	200:00	78	22/42	7/24	13/17	17	22	39	12	10	19	1	5	15	26	86
				52.4%	29.2%	76.5%

Head coach: CASIMIRO, LUIS

Head Coaches

DRIJENCIC, MLADEN

EWE Baskets Oldenburg

"I am very happy about our first of the EuroCup season. We won against a top European team because we got into our rhythm. We are learning from game to game – to play hard, to be smart. Today we did a really good job and we played our basketball. We were good on pick-and-roll defense, but we have to do a better job in rebounding. This win is crucial for us and it is nice that we get it on Rickey Paulding’s 37th birthday!"

CASIMIRO, LUIS

Unicaja Malaga

"Congratulations to Oldenburg, they played a very good game. I think we played a very bad game on offense. On defense, I think we played well, but in the second quarter, we played bad in defense, too. We lost control of the rebounds in that period, allowed easy baskets, and I think that was the reason for our loss."

Players

SEARS, JUSTIN

EWE Baskets Oldenburg

"It was a great team win and our first win in the EuroCup. Five guys were in double figures. We played hard and we competed the whole game. Malaga has a very strong frontcourt, they dominated us under the boards. But we stopped the runs when it matters. And we did a good job of containing Josh Adams to go for more."

MAHALBASIC, RASID

EWE Baskets Oldenburg

"A surprising win today. We did great as a team against the heavy favorite in Group D. It will give us some extra motivation for the next games."

HOBBS, BRAYDON

EWE Baskets Oldenburg

"Shots were going, I guess you can say. They are a good team... We hit shots, we played okay defense, we can still play better, but played good enough to win. We tried to work on our pick-and-roll defense. We emphasized it going into the game. We did not rebound the ball well, I turned it over a lot, the ball went in and we focused on their pick-and-roll. Good enough for the first victory in the EuroCup."

AVRAMOVIC, ALEKSA

Unicaja Malaga

"We started well, but in the second quarter, we had some problems on defense. They made the crucial difference of 10 points at halftime. We tried to come back in the third and fourth quarter, but it was too late."